All the news

Cyrillic divides Serbs and Croats in Vukovar

19/02/2013 -  Drago Hedl Osijek

The law introducing double signs in Latin and Cyrillic on the streets of Vukovar has triggered strong protests. But how much is the city really divided?

Kosovo fights crime repression, not crime

08/02/2013 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

The new criminal code procedure approved by the Kosovo Parliament makes it even more difficult for witnesses to give evidence, and risky

Serbs in Northern Kosovo fear Dačić negotiations

07/02/2013 -  Tatjana Lazarević Mitrovica

Negotiations between Belgrade and Priština are swiftly proceeding, while Serbs in Northern Kosovo fear being abandoned by the new socialist government

Riots and protests in Azerbaijan

07/02/2013 -  Arzu Geybullayeva

People turned to the streets in the Northern town of Ismayilli, while different protests took place in Baku. Arrests, including of opposition figures, have been the answer of the authorities

Sex Education in Croatia. The war between the Church and government

04/02/2013 -  Drago Hedl Osijek

It is open clash between the Croatian Catholic Church and the center-left government. The disputed issue is sex education in schools, recently introduced in the broader context of civic education and health

Albania: the nationalist revival

04/02/2013 -  Marjola Rukaj

For the first time in the recent history of Albania, extreme nationalism has political representation: the Red and Black Alliance. An interview with anthropologist Armanda Kodra

Contending Cyrillic

04/02/2013 -  Federico Sicurella Belgrado

The appearance of the Cyrillic alphabet on the new Euro banknotes has been welcomed as a sign of trust of the European economic system in the Balkan Countries. It is Cyrillic, however, that underpins three ticklish controversies, in Serbia and Croatia

Armenia-Azerbaijan: crossing to “the other side” in times of ceasefire

31/01/2013 -  Arzu Geybullayeva Baku

Armenia and Azerbaijan are in a bitter conflict. Dialogue between the sides is difficult, but some visits across the border are still happening. The story of an Azerbaijani journalist in Armenia

Erkin Koray, the Turkish Jimi Hendrix

24/01/2013 -  Gianluca Grossi

Erkin Koray is one of the greatest Turkish musicians. He has contributed not only to rock, but also to psychedelic, world music and prog. This has earned him the nickname of the Turkish Jimi Hendrix

Armenia: elections without a choice

21/01/2013 -  Mikayel Zolyan Yerevan

A deep economic crisis and complicated regional scenario will seemingly not stop the incumbent, Serzh Sargsyan, to be elected for a new term as Armenian president

Why Slovenia took to the streets

21/01/2013 -  Franco Juri

Demonstrations in Slovenia have been going on for weeks and a public sector strike is scheduled for January 23rd. The analysis

Serbia: education, the market and democracy

17/01/2013 -  Federico Sicurella Belgrado

What principles should underpin Serbia's educational system from now to 2020? The answer lies in the Strategy for the Development of Education, recently adopted by the government. The document, however, does not appeal to many intellectuals denouncing it subjects education to nationalism and the market economy

Macedonia's state of democracy

17/01/2013 -  Risto Karajkov Skopje

In October 2012, the European Commission gave green light to Macedonia for the fourth time in a row to start the EU accession negotiations, still blocked by a Greek veto. But what is the real state of democracy in the country? Our correspondent takes us on a personal reflection on indicators rarely taken into account

Between Syria and Turkey: the Kurdish factor

17/01/2013 -  Alberto Tetta Ceylanpinar

In north-eastern Syria, a region with a Kurdish majority, the civil war becomes a clash between the Free Syrian Army and the Kurdish-Syrian separatists of the Democratic Union Party (PYD). A report by our correspondent from the Turkish-Syrian border

Greece: fight for the soul of the Achelous River

10/01/2013 -  Gilda Lyghounis

A huge project, madness for many: deviating the course of the Achelous River and have it flow into the Aegean instead of the Ionian Sea. Following the resistance of the Greek Council of State, the EU and the environmentalists, the project seemed to have been set aside for good. Now, aided by the crisis, it has come to be topical again

Alisa Ganieva, if the Caucasus separated from Russia

09/01/2013 -  Maria Elena Murdaca

Alisa Ganieva, a Dagestani writer, is the author of "Salam, Dalgat". Active in the Russian literary scene, Ganieva tries to overcome mutual stereotyping between Russians and people from the North Caucasus. In her new novel, she imagines what would happen if the Caucasus suddenly separated from Russia. An interview

Moldovan citizens to travel freely in the EU by 2014?

09/01/2013 -  Natalia Ghilaşcu Chişinău

In 2012, José Barroso and Angela Merkel visited Moldova. These high-level visits raised hopes that Moldovan citizens will be granted visa-free travel in the EU by 2014. Still, a Russian proposal to include Moldova in its own customs union keeps public opinion divided in the country

In Şule Gürbüz's lost time

08/01/2013 -  Fazıla Mat Istanbul

She's not a hermit, though in other times she could have been. Her job is not in keeping with the times: she repairs the clocks in the Ottoman palaces. Şule Gürbüz is the only woman in the world to be an expert in mechanical clocks and author of two collections of stories which are small jewels of contemporary Turkish literature: Zamanin Farkinda (Aware of time, 2011) and Coskuyla Olmek (Die enthusiastically, 2012)

Mustafa Akyol: the AKP is not too Islamic, but too Turkish

02/01/2013 -  Francesco Martino Sofia

After ten years in power in Turkey, Erdoğan's AKP still has a reformist potential, but is becoming increasingly intolerant and confrontational. The issue, according to political commentator Mustafa Akyol, has more to do with the political tradition of authoritarian power in Turkey, than with the party's supposed “Islamic agenda”

Yerevan World Book Capital: 8 months of infinite reading

31/12/2012 -  Nuné Melkoumian Yerevan

On April 22, Yerevan became the 12th city to be designated World Book Capital by Unesco. A look back at the most significant projects of the year